A11 CTLR DESCRIBED OPDEV WHEN INCORRECT CLBOUT HDGS WERE ISSUED DURING NOISE DISTRS IN THE FACILITY.

Date: 2006-02 · Aircraft: Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172

Anomalies: atc-issue-all-types|airspace-violation-all-types

Synopsis

A11 CTLR DESCRIBED OPDEV WHEN INCORRECT CLBOUT HDGS WERE ISSUED DURING NOISE DISTRS IN THE FACILITY.

Narrative

I WAS PROVIDING RADAR ADVISORIES TO ACFT X; A C172; WITHIN MY DELEGATED AIRSPACE AT ANC APCH CTL. AFTER 1 HR OF AIR WORK; ACFT X REQUESTED PRACTICE ILS APCHS AT ANC. AFTER CHKING ON THE TFC FLOW AT ANC; ACFT X WAS SUBSEQUENTLY ISSUED A VECTOR TO THE FINAL APCH COURSE; AN ALT TO MAINTAIN; A XPONDER CODE CHANGE TO ALLOW FOR MSAW WARNINGS; AND CLBOUT INSTRUCTIONS. THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE BROKEN UP INTO MANAGEABLE XMISSIONS AS TO NOT OVERLOAD THE PLT IN TRAINING. ACFT X WAS THEN HANDED OFF TO THE ARR SECTOR FOR SEQUENCING INTO ANC. DURING THE TIME ACFT X WAS BEING PROVIDED SVC; MAINT WAS BEING ALLOWED TO PROCEED UNCHKED AT THE ANC APCH CTL. THE NOISE LEVEL OF WHICH WAS ELEVATED TO THE POINT UNDERSTANDING XMISSIONS AND READBACKS BECAME LABORIOUS. SEVERAL TIMES I PLEADED WITH THE OPERATIONAL SUPVR TO FIND THE CAUSE OF THE NOISE AND TO HAVE IT TERMINATED. THE NOISE WAS AKIN TO AN AIR JACK-HAMMER BEING USED TO BREAK UP CONCRETE BELOW OUR WORKING AREA. LATER THIS WAS FOUND OUT TO BE TRUE. I EVEN WENT SO FAR AS TO BROADCAST ON THE BUILDING INTERCOM SYS FOR THE MAINT TO CEASE AND DESIST; TO NO AVAIL. JUST AS MIND BOGGLING WAS THE FACT THE ANC ATC MGR WOULD EVEN ALLOW THIS TYPE OF DISTR TO PROCEED AT ALL. THE RESULT OF ALL THE CONFUSION AND DISTR IN THE APCH CTL ROOM LED TO ACFT X BEING ISSUED AN ERRONEOUS CLBOUT HDG. THE NORMAL HDG WOULD HAVE BEEN 'FLY HDG TWO-ZERO-ZERO' WHAT I ISSUED AND COULD NOT BELIEVE UNTIL AFTER THE TAPES WERE REVIEWED WAS 'FLY HDG ZERO-TWO-ZERO.' THE ACFT EVEN READ BACK THE TWENTY HDG AND I NEITHER CAUGHT MYSELF DURING THE XMISSION NOR DURING THE READBACK. ACFT X THEN TURNED NEBOUND AFTER DEP AND FLEW INTO ADJACENT CLASS D AIRSPACE WITHOUT AUTH. THE ONLY EXPLANATION I COULD COME UP WITH WAS THE NOISE LEVEL BEING SUCH A DISTR I JUST MISSED IT. XMITTING AND HEARING THE TWO AND ZERO IN COMBINATION SEEMED TO SATISFY ME EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE TRANSPOSED. I'VE ISSUED THIS HDG A THOUSAND TIMES AND COULD NOT BELIEVE I ISSUED IT INCORRECTLY.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.